A Retrieved Resolution
by Silent Scribe
Summary: His mother said he should have been a ferryman, but is that really the best choice for Jaken? Does he really want to stay Sesshomaru's lackey? Short fic.


_A/N: There's been a lot of talk as to what demon species Jaken really is. Toad-demon? Kappa? Mutilated Kermit? I've settled on that he's some sort of toad-imp, since I have yet to hear a character in cannon directly refer to him as a kappa. From what I've read on Japanese mythology, kappa are water sprites that have a taste for young children and small animals, and they carry water in an indention in their heads. Whatever the case, here's a short Jaken fanfiction set a bit prior to the series' beginning._

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**A Retrieved Resolution**

Slowly, painfully, in prickling agony, Jaken clawed his way out of a barrier of thorns. Finding an alternative route would have been preferred, but would've taken longer. Lord Sesshomaru had been clear when he'd instructed he needed that scroll as soon as possible – cracking talons emphasized the point.

For his part, Jaken had braved blistering sunlight, two terrifying _oni_, questioning humans, and of course – he pulled three out of his rear – thorns to return before mid-afternoon on the same day.

No sooner had he entered the clearing where he last left his master, a paper slip wafted down, slapping to Jaken's beak.

The imp shrieked the message aloud. _"Wait here?!"_

In disbelief, Jaken collapsed on his rump…until the pain jolted him again. Rolling to his side, he cursed the Fates.

_Mother was right; I should've been a ferryman,_ Jaken internally wailed for the umpteenth time that day.

"Ferrymen have stability, good pay, and tend to stay out of the gaping jaws of other demons," she had advised him.

But that wasn't how Jaken's cards read. No, here he was the sycophant to a daiyokai whose ego was the exact reciprocal of his insipid sense of fear. For Jaken, the only answer to that equation was bootlicking and enough daily occupational hazards to last a lifetime.

The imp glowered at the scroll he'd went through seven hells to acquire.

_Wait here._

How presumptuous!

Jaken scrutinized the Head Staff he held. Why had he accepted this pitiful station in the first place and given up his esteemed position as a one-time yokai lord? He'd been a star-struck idiot was all! Now that he thought about it, Sesshomaru had simply been passing by and killing the demon impeding his travels. Sparing Jaken's life had only been coincidence.

_That's all I am, isn't it?! Only a convenience!_ the imp fumed. _I don't need this sort of life! And I certainly don't need that popinjay! _

Collecting himself in a huff, Jaken marched off to find Sesshomaru and let the foppish demon know exactly what he thought of him.

_Then I can either choose to be leader of my clan once more or maybe even lead the carefree life of a ferryman. I'll be my only master from here on out!_

Gazing skyward and stepping high (or at least as much as he squat legs would permit), Jaken was taken completely off guard when he splashed into a previously unnoticed pond.

"You'll have to watch yourself there, friend."

Jaken paused in his sputtering at the sound of a disembodied voice. It was calm, reminding him something of a slipping current, yet there was a drafty undertow to it.

"Need a hand?"

Before he could reply, Jaken was picked up and set upon a rock in the middle of the pond. When he saw who his rescuer was, the toad-demon clutched the Head Staff and scroll tighter to his chest. "You're…you're a k-kappa," he stammered.

The kappa laughed, a ripple in stagnant water. "So I am." It dipped its head awkwardly, trying not to spill any of the fluid from its skull's hollow. The rest of the kappa's tortoise-shelled body remained submerged; only a gangly arm ending in webbed claws surfaced when it gestured, crooning, "Now what brings you here, little green one?"

Jaken tried for what he hoped was an indignant snort. "I'm delivering a message!" He raised the scroll. "It's impor—"

The kappa had vanished.

Eyes darting neurotically, Jaken piped, "Uh, hello?"

"Right behind you, little one." The water-demon's voice was slippery, strangling seaweed. It started circling the imp in a manner most unnerving.

"Y-yes, well," Jaken futilely tried to keep an eye on his converser. "C-could you, I mean, would mind, uh, returning me to land?" He glanced at the pond's bank.

"Whatever for?" smirked the kappa. "Are you in some sort of rush?"

It drew nearer and Jaken backed up to the rock's edge.

"Why don't you stick around" – the water-demon extended a claw – "for dinner?"

Jaken barely had time to shriek as the kappa's jaw dropped to its chest, revealing rows of serrated teeth.

The helpless yokai screamed the first words that came to mind.

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

Suddenly, there was a spray of shell and guts.

Standing at the pond's edge, his claws were still raised and glowing from the exertion of manifesting a yoki whip. Sesshomaru flexed his talons, then ran them through his luxurious, silvery mane. Gliding across the water in long, easy strides, the dog-demon looked…

_Absolutely magnanimous! _

Sesshomaru levitated effortlessly as he plucked his retainer – Skull Staff, scroll, and all – off of the rock. Without rustling a blade of grass, the daiyokai landed.

"What are you doing out here?"

Jaken grinned idiotically for a few seconds – absorbing how perfectly cool and utterly bland Sesshomaru's voice was.

"Jaken." From cool to scalding.

The imp navigated through a blur of "um"s and "uh"s before managing, "I wanted an audience with you, my lord."

"Regarding?"

Jaken gulped, then squeaked, "Occupational risks." He braced himself for a kick.

It didn't come.

Sesshomaru flicked his gaze down on Jaken. "You know," he remarked icily, "you can use that staff as a weapon. It spits flames." Whirling around, the daiyokai proceeded into the woods. "Let's go."

Jaken stared at Sesshomaru's retreating back…then at the dead kappa.

"Wait for me, m'lord!"

_Perhaps Mother was right about becoming a ferryman_, Jaken thought, gripping the Head Staff and breaking into a trot. _But she has never met Lord Sesshomaru!_


End file.
